sonicwfandomcom-20200216-history
Welcome to Pooh Corner
| voices = | narrated = Laurie Main | country = United States | company = | distributor = Warner Bros. Television Buena Vista Television | network = The Disney Channel | audio_format = Stereo | first_aired = | last_aired = | num_episodes = 120 |}} Welcome to Pooh Corner is a live-action/puppet television series that aired on Disney Channel, featuring the characters from the Winnie the Pooh universe portrayed by actors in human-sized puppet suits, except Roo, who was originally a traditional puppet. The animatronic costumes used for the characters were created by Alchemy II, Inc., headed by Ken Forsse who later created Teddy Ruxpin. The show was first aired on April 18, 1983, the day The Disney Channel was launched.The Disney Channel Magazine, April/May 1983 (Premiere Issue), pp. 7, 14. Its timeslot for its early run was at 8:30 a.m. Eastern/Pacific Time, making it the third program of The Disney Channel's 16 (later 18) hour programming day. Reruns of the show aired on The Disney Channel until at least January 1997.The Disney Channel Magazine, Vol. 14, no. 6, December 1996/January 1997: p. 28. Hal Smith, Anthony Daniels, Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, and Laurie Main were the only three actors from the original four Pooh shorts to reprise their roles here (McDowall, who had voiced Owl ever since the beginning of Disney's Winnie the Pooh franchise, Smith had recently replaced Sterling Holloway as the voice of Pooh; Daniels had provided Rabbit's voice in the 1983 short Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore, replacing Junius Matthews; and Main was the narrator for Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore, replacing Sebastian Cabot). The show's title derives from the second Winnie the Pooh storybook, The House at Pooh Corner. Background This series was the only incarnation in the history of Disney's incarnations of Winnie the Pooh in which we could actually see the narrator aside from only hearing his voice. He would present each episode. The show would start off with him greeting the viewers "Welcome to Pooh Corner" and then relate what he was talking about to an event that occurred in the Hundred Acre Wood, the home of the Pooh characters, and then he would proceed to read from a book entitled Welcome to Pooh Corner. He would then narrate the episode acted out by the characters. The action was filmed before a blue screen, rather than using traditional sets (the same technique was used for Dumbo's Circus, another live-action/puppet series that ran on The Disney Channel). Since the show was designed for The Disney Channel before it began airing commercials, there were no breaks for commercials. As a result, the show lasted a full thirty minutes. The main story ran about twenty minutes followed by two shorter segments. The first segment was a sing-along music video featuring one of nine songs, used over and over throughout the show's run. These songs were written by the Oscar-winning Sherman Brothers who had provided the majority of the Winnie the Pooh music over the years. The Sherman Brothers also wrote the show's theme song, using the music from the original Winnie-the-Pooh theme song from The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, albeit with a slightly altered tempo. The last segment of the show was a presentational arts and crafts demonstration that took place at the Thoughtful Spot. One of the cast members would speak to the narrator, looking directly into the camera, while they showed the viewers at home how to make something. When the series first started out, the narrator was seen sitting in a small library. As the series progressed, he is moved into a small playroom which eventually is seen having plush versions of Pooh and his friends. The costumes, Pooh plushes, the narrator's wicker chair and his book were displayed in the walk-in prop warehouse of the Studio Backlot Tour at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Lake Buena Vista, Florida until its closure in 2014. Episodes *"Pooh Shows Tigger a Bright Side" *"Eeyore Solves a Problem" *"Owl Has a Party for his Auntiversary" *"Kanga and Roo Learn Where Home Is" *"Pooh and his Friends Take Pot Luck" *"Big Little Piglet" *"There's No Place Like Owl's Place" *"Piglet Signs Out" *"Pooh Corner Singing Society" *"Pooh Gets a Turn" *"A House is Blown Down" *"Singing Helps the Work Along" *"Be of Good Cheer" *"Pooh and his Friends Play Follow the Leader" *"A House of a Different Color" *"Feelings" *"You Need a Friend" *"Doing What I Do Best" *"The Pooh Scouts" *"Brighten Your Corner" *"Safety First" *"Rabbit Learns to Share" *"The Great Outdoors" *"Surprise, Surprise" *"Piglet Pride" *"Roo's Great Adventure" *"Eeyore Talks to Himself" *"Snow Falls on Pooh Corner" *"Hello, Hello There" *"Practice Makes Perfect" *"The Old Swimming Hole" *"Pooh Makes a Trade" *"A Bicycle Built for Five" *"My Echo and I" *"Pooh Learns to Remember" *"Wishing" *"Don't Quit" *"Holiday for Pooh Bear" *"Pooh Builds a Bee House" *"Piglet Lends a Helping Hand" *"Pooh Borrows Trouble" *"Clouds" *"The Fastest Rabbit in the Wood" *"When I Was Younger" *"Eeyore Joins the Band" *"Eeyore's Costume Party" *"A Swing for Eeyore" *"Do it Now" *"Carrots, Carrots, and More Carrots" *"Hi Neighbor" *"Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti" *"Rabbit's Cousin" *"The Great Kite Race" *"Fine Feathered Friend" *"Piglet's Slumber Party" *"Piglet Learns to Swing" *"Handyman Tigger" *"Pooh Corner Singing Society" *"Piglet Cares for a Carrot" *"Tigger Finds a Hobby" *"Almost Perfect Picnic" *"The Iceboat Cometh" *"It Must Be Spring" *"It Must Be Summer" *"It Must Be Fall" *"Song of Eeyore" *"Tale of a Tail" *"Pooh Goes Boom" *"Tigger's Day Off" *"A Brand New Sign" *"Rabbit's Treasure Hunt" *"Strawberry Time" *"Sleepytime Tigger" *"Eeyore's Tea Party" *"Rules of the Game" *"Eeyore's Island" *"Let's Pretend" *"Pooh Corner Carnival" *"Many Things: Lost and Found" *"Roo Gets Lost" *"Happy Birthday, Roo" *"All Fall Down" *"Rabbit Wins One For Tigger" *"Eeyore Goes Exploring" *"Pooh Corner On Parade" *"Tigger Takes a Fall" *"Dress Up Day" *"Bright Idea" *"Piglet's Secret Place is Safe" *"Pooh Forgets to Remember" *"Stay at Home Adventure" *"Look Around, Look Around" *"To Be a Friend" *"Butterflies Tigger" *"Piglet Sees Spots" *"Pooh Scouts Campout" *"The Man in the Moon is a Tigger" *"Heat Wave" *"The Long, Long Walk" *"Mystery of the Missing Tail" *"Now You See it" *"Pooh Corner School" *"Poor Eeyore" *"Piglet Finds Out Who Friends Are" *"A Mysterious Noise Keeps Piglet Awake" *"When I was Younger" *"Very Beautiful Day" *"There's a Party Going Round" *"Home is Better" *"Day for Knights" *"The Fastest Does Not Win the Race" *"Pooh and his Friends Switch Places" *"Pooh Cleans Up" Holiday specials #Pooh Corner Thanksgiving (1983) #Christmas at Pooh Corner (1983) #Pooh's Funny Valentine's Day (1984) #Because It's Halloween (1984) #Christmas Is For Sharing (1984) Educational specials *''Too Smart for Strangers'' - a 1985 TV special (which was also released to home video), where Pooh and his friends tell the viewers about strangers and molestation and what to do. *''Pooh's Great School Bus Adventure'' - a fifteen-minute 16mm educational film produced in 1986, where the characters explain the importance of school bus safety. *''One and Only You'' - a ten-minute 16mm educational film produced in 1989, where the characters explain about being yourself. *''Responsible Persons'' - a ten-minute 16mm educational film produced in 1989, Pooh and friends demonstrate taking responsibility for your actions. With * Laurie Main - Narrator With the Voice Talents of * Hal Smith - Winnie the Pooh * Will Ryan - Tigger * Roddy McDowall - Owl * Anthony Daniels - Rabbit * Charlton Heston - Eeyore * Phil Baron - Piglet * Diana Hale and Robin Frederick - Kanga * Kim Christianson - Roo * Frank Welker - additional voice * John Walker - additional voice Cast * Robin Frederick * Joe Giamalva * Patty Maloney * Ronald Mangham * Norman Herrill Jr. * Mark Sawyer * Frank Groby * Clancy Gorewit Music Composed and Conducted by * Jerry Goldsmith * Henry Mancini * Leonard Rosenman * Basil Poledouris * John Debney Songs The songs were written by the Academy Award-winning songwriting duo of Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. The Sherman Brothers also wrote the majority of the well known Winnie the Pooh songs, including "The Wonderful Thing about Tiggers" and "Heffalumps and Woozles" from the 1960s, and in 2000 wrote the score to The Tigger Movie. *"Welcome to Pooh Corner Theme Song" *"Try a Little Something New" (Rabbit's Song); is sung by Rabbit. It is about how Rabbit deals with his "naughty habits" of 'mundanity and stagnation.' The song was re-written for the later 1999 VHS production, Sing a Song with Pooh Bear, in which Tigger and Owl perform it as a duet. *"Just Say, 'Yes I Can' " (Eeyore's Song) *"You're the Only You" (Tigger's song); is his personal "theme song" specifically for this series, as opposed to his widely accepted theme song in reference to the Pooh franchise as a whole, "The Wonderful Thing about Tiggers" (also written by the Sherman Brothers). In the song, he asserts that "the wonderful thing about Tiggers is: I'm the only one". *"I Hum to Myself" (Piglet's Song); is about how Piglet deals with his fears by humming to himself. *"The Right Side" (Pooh's Song); was originally written in 1961 or 1962 as part of the Sherman Brothers' score for Mary Poppins. In the song, Pooh explains how he makes the best out of a bad situation. *"Responsible Persons" (Owl's Song) *"Be A Buddy, Be A Pal" (Tigger and Roo's Song) *"Please and Thank-You" (Pooh and Piglet's Song) *"It's What's on the Inside That Matters" (Rabbit/Tigger and Piglet Song) *"Smile When You Say That" (Rabbit/Tigger and Piglet Song) *"Clouds" (Rabbit and Eeyore's Song) *"Trees" (Tigger and Owl's Song) *"Tiggers Go Up and Down" (Tigger) *"The Tigger Strut" (Tigger, with the Pooh Corner Band) *"Mr. Song and Dance" (Eeyore, with the Pooh Corner Band) *''Welcome to Pooh Corner Closing Song'' *"Stay Cool, Calm and Collective" (Roo and Robert) In the episode "The Long, Long Walk", Rabbit's brother comes to visit the 100 Acre Wood. But when Rabbit asks Roo to show Robert around, the kangaroo and the rabbit's brother sing this song while lost in the woods about being brave when something scary happens as you get lost. *"Halloween" (all) In this song, all the characters explain what happens on Halloween night like dressing up in costumes, going to parties and Trick-Or-Treating for candy. "A Part of Me" Sometimes, if an episode ended a few minutes early, a certain character would sing a song entitled "A Part of Me", which was written by one of the voice actors, Phil Baron. The song depicts the importance of a certain body part that each character was singing about: *"Eyes" (Owl) *"Ears" (Pooh) *"Feet" (Piglet) *"Nose" (Tigger) *"Mouth" (Eeyore) *"Hands" (Rabbit) Home media VHS releases US releases Six VHS tapes were released by Walt Disney Home Video and Warner Home Video in the mid-1980s for the then new video home rental market. Each tape contained four episodes. * Volume One contains the episodes "You Need A Friend", "Doing What I Do Best", "The Pooh Scouts" and "Brighten Your Corner". * Volume Two contains the episodes "Safety First", "Rabbit Learns to Share", "The Great Outdoors" and "Surprise, Surprise". * Volume Three contains the episodes "Piglet Pride", "Roo's Great Adventure", "Eeyore Talks to Himself" and "Snow Falls On Pooh Corner". * Volume Four contains the episodes "Hello, Hello There", "Practice Makes Perfect", "The Old Swimming Hole" and "Pooh Makes a Trade". * Volume Five contains the episodes "A Bicycle Built for Five", "My Echo and I", "Pooh Learns to Remember" and "Wishing". * Volume Six contains the episodes "Don't Quit", "Holiday for Pooh Bear", "Pooh Builds a Bee House" and "Piglet Lends a Helping Hand". UK releases The show was also released on VHS PAL in the UK as part of a six-volume set which also each featured an episode of Good Morning, Mickey!, Donald Duck Presents, The Mouse Factory and Mousercise. Each tape contained one episode of Welcome to Pooh Corner. * Volume One contains the episode "Eeyore Joins the Band". * Volume Two contains the episode "Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti". * Volume Three contains the episode "A Bicycle Built for Five". * Volume Four contains the episode "Piglet's Slumber Party". * Volume Five contains the episode "Eeyore's Costume Party". * Volume Six contains the episode "Handyman Tigger". * Volume Seven contains the episode "Do It Now". * First Christmas Volume contains the special "Christmas at Pooh Corner" DVD releases *Disney Safety Hits Vol. 2 (Pooh's Great School Bus Adventure & Too Smart for Strangers) References External links * Category:1980s American children's television series Category:1980s American music television series Category:1983 American television series debuts Category:1986 American television series endings Category:Television programs featuring puppetry Category:Winnie-the-Pooh television series Category:American television programs featuring anthropomorphic characters Category:Disney Channel shows Category:Family Channel shows Category:American children's fantasy television series Category:American children's musical television series Category:Television series by Disney Category:Television programs based on children's books Category:English-language television programs Category:Winnie the Pooh (franchise) Category:Television series based on Disney films Category:Television series scored by Jerry Goldsmith Category:Television series scored by Leonard Rosenman Category:Television series scored by Henry Mancini Category:Television series scored by Basil Poledouris Category:Television series by Warner Bros. Television